The Request
Tell Me You ExistIndex:
(YJ) – Young Jae speaking
(DH) – Daehyun speaking
(BY) – Yongguk speaking
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A week or so had passed since Young Jae last had that feeling of someone missing from his life. It would have become more important to Young Jae, but for whatever reason, he had completely forgotten about this absence. He had gone back to his old routine, but there were just some things that seemed to continually make him do something that he normally wouldn’t do.
Humming as he stepped onto the school grounds, Young Jae had just briefly glanced up to see the snow when his eyes landed on someone on the rooftop. Well… he thought there was someone on the roof, but that person had disappeared before he could get a good look. Maybe his eyes were playing tricks on him, but Young Jae merely shrugged it off before looking straightforward again.
The snow was really pretty, as usual. Okay, so he was rather cold, but the wind was luckily not blowing at the moment. This way, Young Jae could enjoy the snow without having to feel as if he was freezing down to the bone. Maybe this was a sign of how the rest of the winter season was going to be like, or maybe he was just getting his hopes up. Who knows?
Entering the school building, Young Jae walked up to his shoe locker as he hummed quietly to himself. Opening up his locker, he was about to pull his school shoes out, but a quiet gasp escaped his lips as he stared at the neatly wrapped up bundle in his locker. Looking around for a moment, he couldn’t see anyone currently around. What was this bundle for?
Looking back into his locker, Young Jae stared in awe as he set his bag down. Since he arrived early every morning, he couldn’t think of anyone who could have left this in his locker so early in the morning. Of course, the person could have just left it there yesterday. Though... what was this for? Was it a secret admirer? In a way, Young Jae had always wanted a secret admirer and he couldn't help but feel a little giddy about receiving such a delightful treat. He hoped that it was something tasty.
As he pulled out the bundle, Young Jae noticed a small white card sticking out from inside the bundle. Pursing his lips a bit, he smiled as he sat on the bench behind him while pulling the card out. Opening it up, Young Jae’s eyes widened as he saw the word ‘SORRY’ written in the middle of the right side of the card. Turning the card to look at the back, Young Jae couldn’t help but frown as he saw that it didn’t have a name anywhere on it. Who… was apologizing to him?
Setting the card onto the bench, Young Jae turned his attention back to the bundle. Was this really for him? Maybe it had been placed into the wrong locker. He couldn’t recall anyone doing anything bad to him, so it didn’t really make any sense to him as to why anyone would feel like they had to apologize to him. Still… in case it really was for him, then it wouldn’t hurt to just open it up and see what may be hidden inside. Could he help it? Young Jae was a er for presents and he rarely ever received them.
Carefully, he undid the tie on the bundle, carefully peeling away the layers of cloth before his eyes widened at the pastries that had been neatly packed into a box. Well, it was the bottom half of a box, but it was still a cute box. There was another layer of plastic that had been tied with a rather cute bow and from what he could see, each pastry had their own plastic and bow as well. There was even a cute cloth that lined the bottom of the box, making the pastries seem much cuter than they should. From what he could see, there was another card that had been placed neatly inside with the pastries.
Sticking his tongue out at the corner of his mouth, Young Jae opened up the plastic layer before pulling out the card. This time, it wasn’t folded and there was more than just a single word on it. The card also had a name on it, which definitely confirmed that this bundle really was for him. Of course… as he began reading it, he couldn’t help but feel a little sad about what it said.
‘Hey Young Jae.
Sorry for leaving you all alone…
You must be sad, right?
I baked my most favorite pastries for you, so…
Will you forgive me?
You will forgive me… right?
I just… wasn’t thinking.
Sorry for not being a good friend…’
He read the card over and over again, but Young Jae just couldn’t piece it together. None of it made any sense to Young Jae and yet… his feelings seemed to tell him otherwise. His feelings seemed to tell him that it made perfect sense and that’s what was making him tear up at this very moment, yet… he still didn’t understand. Why did he feel so sad about this? Why did it feel as if he was forgetting something so important that it was practically part of his life?
Why did… he forget?
Lowering his hands, Young Jae looked around as he tried to find out if that person was still around. However, no matter where he looked, that person just wasn’t there. Maybe… maybe they were on the rooftop! Maybe it had been that person that he saw earlier. If he ran there now, then Young Jae might be able to meet the person that had left this bundle here.
Carefully, but quickly, Young Jae wrapped everything back up and switched out his shoes before he began running down the hallways. This was something that was definitely against school rules, but he had to hurry. Young Jae had to make sure that he met this person. For whatever reason, he just had this feeling that this person was that important something that continued to make him feel as if something was missing in his life.
Going up two flights of stairs, Young Jae was about to go up the third staircase, but just as he reached the landing, his foot got caught on the last step. Falling forward, Young Jae’s things flew out of his grasp as he tried to use his hands to break his fall. Sadly, he still roughly landed, but at least he was able to keep himself from injuring his head in any sort of way.
“O-Ow... ow…” (YJ) Young Jae could feel his tears welling up even more as he tried to fight the urge to cry from the pain. His hands and wrists hurt a lot and even as he attempted to move them, they seemed to cry out in pain. He to his back, trying to keep all weight off of his hands and arms in an attempt to reduce the pain. Tears had just begun to slide down the side of his face when, luckily, he heard the sound of a familiar voice.
“Who's out he- Young Jae?! Are you alright?!” (BY) Young Jae tilted his head upwards to see Yongguk running down the hallway. Well, luckily, their classroom was only two rooms away from the staircase, so Yongguk didn’t really have to run much. Still, Young Jae was glad that Yongguk was actually here so early in the morning. “What happened?” (BY)
As Yongguk knelt down, he examined Young Jae, trying to figure out what to do. Judging by the way his hands were, Yongguk could see that he had injured them somehow. Since he was also on the ground, that must have meant that Young Jae had fallen and used his hands in an attempt to brace himself for the impact. “I-I… I fell… a-and it hurts…” (YJ)
“Alright. Hold on… I’ll carry you to the nurse’s office.” (BY) Yongguk moved a bit so that he was comfortably crouching down beside Young Jae. Moving his hands underneath Young Jae, he had a firm hold of Young Jae’s shoulders and underneath Young Jae’s knees, before he carefully got up to his feet. Young Jae was about to voice that he could technically walk on his own, but Yongguk had begun talking as he walked. “I think the nurse is in right now, so she can look at your hands right away.” (BY)
“O-Okay… b-but um… I-I can walk by myself…” (YJ)
“It’s alright. Just save your energy and focus on getting better.” (BY) Young Jae nodded, though he couldn’t help but feel a bit embarrassed to be carried like this. He was just glad that there wasn’t anyone else in the school building where they were, otherwise he wouldn’t really know how to deal with a situation like this.
Back at the staircase, a person walked down the steps as they watched the two walking away. They remained silent, their eyes looking around before carefully gathering up Young Jae’s belongings. Once everything had been collected, the person walked down the hallway and entered Young Jae’s classroom before walking up to his desk and neatly setting everything up onto Young Jae’s desk. Carefully touching the desk a bit, a slight frown came onto the person’s face before they turned and left the classroom.
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Lying there in bed, Young Jae frowned as he continued to stare at his hands. At the moment, both of his hands were in hand braces. The nurse said that he didn’t have to worry about his wrists or hands being broken from the impact, but she wanted to make sure that it would be alright by placing them into hand braces. She did offer the possibility of going to the hospital, but Young Jae had refused to go… not until school was over anyway.
“Hey… I brought you something to drink.” (BY) Young Jae lifted his head a bit before spotting Yongguk walking up to his bedside. With a smile, Young Jae had attempted to get up on his own, but once Yongguk had set the carton of orange juice down onto the bedside table, he had quickly helped Young Jae up. He let out a few ‘tsk’ sounds, shaking his head as he helped Young Jae comfortably sit up. “Don’t push yourself. If you’re not going to go to the hospital to get checked out, then be more careful.” (BY)
“S-Sorry…” (YJ)
“Anyway, here. Let me help you drink.” (BY) Picking up the carton and opening it up, Yongguk held the carton up to Young Jae’s lips. He felt embarrassed by this, but Young Jae reluctantly drank what Yongguk offered him. Once he had his fill, Young Jae lifted his hand, to which Yongguk pulled the carton away and set it back onto the bedside table. “Anyway… your stuff, for some reason, was already placed in the classroom. I don’t know who did it, but I think everything’s there.” (BY)
“O-Oh…” (YJ) Who could have done that for him? Young Jae didn’t even know that other students usually came this early, so it was a little weird to hear that someone else had already gathered up his things. He did hope that they didn’t steal anything, but that was probably the least of his worries at the moment.
“So… How do you feel? Are you sure you don’t want to go to the hospital…?” (BY) Young Jae looked up at Yongguk before looking back down at his hands. Raising his hands a bit, Young Jae pursed his lips and furrowed his eyebrows as he wiggled his fingers a bit. So far, his fingers and his hands were responding well, so there didn’t seem to be any sort of concern. Yes, there was slight pain, but the pain has dramatically reduced. Of course… it did help that the nurse had given him some medicine for the pain.
“I-I think that… I’m alright. I can still write and... um... take notes.” (YJ) Young Jae was relieved that he could still use his hands. As an artist, he felt like he had failed to protect something that was most precious to him. If he had broken his wrists or hands, then Young Jae was fairly certain that it would take a while for him to catch up to the time that had been lost during his recovery. Though… he did also have to make sure to take it easy on how long he used his hands for the time being.
“That’s good. Heh… Guess that means no more sessions for a while, right?” (BY) Yonug Jae stared at Yongguk for a brief moment before his eyes widened and his face turned a deep red as he quickly turned his head away. Yongguk laughed a bit from Young Jae’s reaction before he gave Young Jae’s shoulder a firm squeeze. “Hey, I’m just kidding! I thought Daehyun would do these kinds of jokes with you.” (BY)
Daehyun? Why did… that name seem so familiar? Young Jae felt like he had heard that name before, but he just couldn’t come up with a face that would fit that name. However, instead of asking Yongguk about it, Young Jae had decided against to just play along. “Y-Yeah… He… he does. I-I was just… um… surprised that the um… class president said something like that.” (YJ)
“Hey now… I’m not a perfect person. I can joke around like everyone else.” (BY) Yongguk leaned back in his seat as he crossed one leg over the other. Folding his arms, Yongguk looked towards the door a bit as he smirked. “Anyway, I already told our teacher what happened, so he’s alright with you coming to class late. I’ll be around too to make sure you’re okay when we go back to class.” (BY)
“O-Oh… okay.” (YJ) Well, at least Young Jae didn’t have to worry about rushing to class now. He didn’t want to force himself to start taking notes before he felt well enough, so he hoped that everything turned out well. He was just thankful that he had a good class president. Maybe… he could even consider him a good friend to have also.
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As he sat there in the library, Young Jae quietly hummed to himself as he happily ate his food. Every now and then, he would glance over at the second set of food that he had packed, constantly questioning why he seemed to always pack two sets of food now. Yes, he would eat the food after school, but he never understood why he bothered bringing two sets to school to begin with.
Still, he had gotten used to it now and had decided not to question it anymore. After all, it just meant more food for him, right? Okay, so it meant more cooking than he hoped for, but… it just felt natural for him. If he just decided to suddenly stop making twice as many lunches, then it would feel… out of place for him.
Once he had gotten in a few more bites, Young Jae decided to take out his sketchbook. It had been a while since he had worked on his drawings and despite the fact that he was still wearing his hand braces, he was determined to draw just a little bit. Opening up his sketchbook, Young Jae smiled a bit as he passed each page of drawings. His art style really did have a rather large variety of looks to it. It seemed to range from anime to realism and even then, they were either styled as sketches or complete drawings. The shading always varied from one drawing to another as well, but it was necessary to have different styles.
Flipping to the last drawing in his book, Young Jae jumped a bit as a folded piece of paper suddenly slid down towards his stomach. Picking up the paper, Young Jae was about to unfold it, but his eyes soon landed on the picture that the paper had been placed with. His eyes widened as his jaw hung there, a sort of awed look on his face as he stared at the face that stared back at him. A few seconds had passed before finally, a gasp escaped his lips as realization kicked in. “D… T-This is… Daehyun… right…?” (YJ)
His eyes shot up as they landed on the food that still sat across from him. It made… so much sense now. The extra food, the constant feeling of someone missing, Yongguk bringing up a Daehyun; it just all made sense now. This was the person missing from his life and… Young Jae wanted to know why he had forgotten about him so easily. There were so many memories that had come back to him almost immediately and it worried Young Jae about how easy it was to forget them all.
Closing his sketchbook, Young Jae bit back tears as he quickly began packing his things up. What was he doing here?! What was he doing just sitting around, enjoying his food when Daehyun was all alone?! Where had Daehyun run off to? Why had Daehyun disappeared in the first place? Was it because of his constant questioning? Was that the cause of it?
As he finished packing his things, his eyes had landed on the bundle of pastries once more. Did… Daehyun feel bad about leaving him? Was that what the apology was about? Wait. Now that he thought about it… Daehyun really did leave because of him constantly questioning. It… really was his fault for pushing Daehyun past his comfort zone when all Daehyun has ever done was try and make sure that he was comfortable. Okay, so he kind of mooched off of him too, but Daehyun had been kind otherwise.
Biting his bottom lip, Young Jae took hold of the bundle and put it into his bag before getting up from his seat. He needed to apologize too. He was also at fault and he wanted to make sure that Daehyun understood that he didn’t mean anything bad by his constant questioning.
Taking in a deep breath, Young Jae began running once more. Daehyun had to be on the rooftop, right? It had to be the case! That’s where he saw Daehyun that day after school and that’s where he had seen Daehyun just earlier that day. Okay… so he wasn’t certain if it was Daehyun, but Young Jae had a gut feeling that it was him. If he could talk with Daehyun, then maybe he could get him to come back.
Passing a few students here and there, turning corners at unsafe speeds, and running up steps as carefully yet as swiftly as possible, Young Jae made his way to the top floor. Coming to a stop in front of the rooftop door, Young Jae pursed his lips and furrowed his eyebrows as he reached for the door handle. He just needed to gather up his strength and just step out there. Daehyun couldn’t be mad at him, right? After all, Daehyun had apologized. Maybe he was feeling guilty about the incident.
Taking in a deep breath, Young Jae turned the door handle before stepping out onto the rooftop.
Looking outside, Young Jae attempted to swallow the lump in his throat as he found himself looking out at the city landscape once more. This was basically the fourth story, so he couldn’t help but feel unsafe up here. Still… his worries can wait. He had something that he had to do and it was far more important than his fear of heights… even if it was getting in the way a bit.
Biting his bottom lip and tightening his hold on his lunch bag a bit, Young Jae began walking. Looking here and there, from what he could see, there wasn’t any sign of anyone being up here. In fact, he wasn’t even certain if people came up to the rooftop anymore, which was a bit of a shame. If it weren’t for his fear of heights, Young Jae would probably come to eat up here every now and then.
Still, despite how much he looked, Young Jae couldn’t see anyone up here. They didn’t exactly have a large section for everyone to go around on, so Young Jae didn’t have to look around much. Just as he was about to give up, his eyes had soon landed on a shed or a storage room of sorts. Was it common for something like this to be up on top of a school building anyway? No, wait. If he recalled, this was actually supposed to be an old broadcasting station. The radio tower was there in case of emergencies, but the country hasn’t had an emergency in a while, so the station was technically abandoned.
Would he… be in there?
Walking up to the broadcasting station, Young Jae bit his bottom lip once more as nervousness began to kick in. Would Daehyun be in here? Would it be alright to go in here in the first place? He didn’t know, but… he really hoped that it was true. Taking hold of the doorknob, Young Jae took in a deep breath once more before pushing open the door.
The second he could see what was inside, Young Jae’s eyes widened as a small gasp escaped his lips. Slowly, his fingers slid off of the doorknob as he looked at the person currently curled up into a ball in the corner of the room. He was sleeping, though from what Young Jae could see, he wasn’t as content looking as he had been when Young Jae first saw him sleeping. “Dae… hyun?” (YJ)
Did he… live here? Was this the place that Daehyun was living in now or… was he just staying here during the duration of lunch? Stepping inside of the small room, Young Jae looked around with a bit of curiosity as he saw the conditions the room was currently in.
It definitely had that lived in look to it, that was for sure. There were blankets and some clothes tossed all over the floor, which confused Young Jae a bit, but it also told Young Jae that this place really was where Daehyun was living. There were stacked up paper plates and cups as well as a few boxes that may have held food at one point. From the looks of it, Daehyun was living off of the school food, which Young Jae guessed he had been stealing from. After all, Daehyun said that he didn't have any money. It was the only conclusion that he could come up with.
This was… horrible. Walking up to Daehyun, Young Jae kneeled down next to him before putting a hand on Daehyun’s arm. He had only begun to shake him a little bit when Daehyun seemed to jump from the sudden movement, a slight yelp escaping from Daehyun’s mouth as he stared at Young Jae with wide eyes. Both males froze, both staring at one another before Young Jae quickly pulled himself together. “D-Daehyun… Do you… live here…?” (YJ)
“Y-… Young Jae…! What… What are you doing here? You can still see me? How did you find me?” (DH) Daehyun quickly sat up, clearing his throat as he attempted to smooth out his hair. Young Jae could feel himself tearing up as he sat up as well. It hurt him that Daehyun had been living here this entire time and if he really thought about it, it was possible that Daehyun had been living here before as well. He did wonder what Daehyun meant by his confusion about him being able to still see Daehyun, but Young Jae wasn’t going to question it for the time being.
“I… I’m sorry… I… I want you to come back and live with me again if you won’t live with your parents. I-I… I don’t want to see you living like this anymore…” (YJ) Daehyun’s eyes lowered as he remained quiet. Young Jae really hoped that Daehyun would listen to him and accept his request. Daehyun had been nothing but good to him, but when Daehyun had asked him time and time again not to ask about a certain topic, Young Jae had ignored him and continued to push. “It’s… It’s my fault that you left and I’m… I’m sorry. I… I won’t ask about it again. I don’t… I don’t want you to suffer because of my curiosity…” (YJ)
“Young Jae… I… I can’t go back with you. It’s… I don’t want it to become too troublesome.” (DH) What did he mean by too troublesome? Why couldn’t he go back home with him? Young Jae could see that Daehyun was having a hard time, so he wanted to continue helping Daehyun. This time, however, he would do a better job at it. Daehyun was a really good friend and he didn’t want to see his friends suffering.
“What do you mean…?” (YJ)
“… I don’t want to fall for you anymore than I already have.” (DH) Young Jae’s eyes widened as he stared at Daehyun. Was… Was Daehyun… confessing his feelings for him? Was this really… happening? Young Jae has been a bit confused about his feelings for Daehyun and he felt like he was slowly being able to capture what those feelings may be, but… to be confessed to like this was… confusing. “I don’t want to end up hurting you…” (DH)
“But… I don't understand! What do you mean by that?” (YJ) What did he mean by hurting him? Young Jae couldn’t tell, but he had to say something to try and convince Daehyun that it would be okay. Would… a confession from him be the best thing to do? Would it convince Daehyun to pursue his feelings and to come back home with him? Was it… the best thing to do?
“No… I… I just can’t, Young Jae... That’s why… That’s why you have to go.” (DH) Daehyun got to his feet before forcing Young Jae up onto his. He began pushing Young Jae towards the door, but Young Jae attempted to resist. Sadly, he wasn’t as strong as he had hoped to be as he soon found himself standing outside. Turning around, he had opened his mouth to say something, but Daehyun had swiftly closed the door.
“Daehyun! P-Please… Daehyun! Don’t do this… Please!” (YJ) Young Jae attempted to turn the doorknob, but it seemed like Daehyun was holding it in place. Releasing the doorknob, Young Jae banged on the door as tears began to slide down his cheek. No. He wasn’t going to leave Daehyun all alone, not after what he seems to be going through. Maybe… Maybe he’ll listen if he confessed! He did say that he would grant him anything he wanted, right? “Daehyun! Please! I… I made up my mind! Y-You… You said that you would give me whatever I want, right?! T-Then I… My request is… f-for you to be my boyfriend!” (YJ)
He banged on the door just a few more times before the door swung open. Young Jae gasped as he felt a hand catch his own before he looked at Daehyun with wide eyes. Daehyun seemed to be in a sort of shocked daze as they stared at one another, but Young Jae soon felt Daehyun’s hand sliding up as Daehyun’s fingers slipped between his. A smile was slowly showing on Daehyun’s face as he lowered his head, Daehyun’s eyes tearing up. Young Jae was a bit confused by this, but he couldn’t help but hope that this was a good thing. “Do… Do you really mean that? Do you… really want to be my boyfriend?” (DH)
“Y-… Yes. I-I’m certain…” (YJ) Daehyun’s smile widened as he burst into laughter, pulling Young Jae tightly into a hug. Young Jae groaned a bit, feeling his feet leave the ground as he felt himself spinning. He was fairly certain that Daehyun and Jongup were related now, but he wasn’t going to say anything. He knew better now to keep himself from being overcome by his curiosity.
“Young Jae! I’m so happy! I’ve been waiting for a sign that you were interested in men for so long!” (DH) He was… waiting? Did that mean that Daehyun has had a crush on him for a while? Those thoughts did leave his mind though as he soon began to feel himself getting sick. Luckily, Daehyun finally let him go. Had Daehyun continue spinning around with him any longer, he probably would have gotten sick to the point of throwing up. “Man… This is a relie- wait. I… I shouldn’t be happy about this! The whole point of me leaving was making sure you didn’t fall for me! Gah!” (DH)
Daehyun hit his forehead with the palm of his hand a few times before letting out a sigh. Putting his hands on his waist, Daehyun took a few steps towards the closest edge before turning back to Young Jae. Daehyun tilted his head a bit as he smiled a bit. “Alright… I… I’ll tell you the truth. You deserve to know, right? You’re my boyfriend now and I shouldn’t keep a secret as important as this from you. But... you do also deserve the truth since you're also my best friend.” (DH)
“H-… Hold on…” (YJ) Even though he was happy that Daehyun was going to tell him the truth finally, he was still a bit dizzy from all of the spinning. It was taking all of his will power from falling over or throwing up, so he needed a moment to compose himself. Luckily, Daehyun seemed to understand that as he helped Young Jae carefully sit down before leaning him against the wall. Putting an arm around Young Jae’s shoulders, he rubbed Young Jae’s arm a bit as he smiled.
“Warm?” (DH)
“M-Mhm… T-Thank you…” (YJ) His ears may have been heating up, but Young Jae felt comfortable. This feeling that had been missing this entire week had been this. This was what Young Jae missed and he didn’t want to end up letting go of it yet again. “O-Okay… I-I’m ready.” (YJ)
“Alright. Well…” (DH)
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[[ My Own Thoughts:
-/ahem-
Yes. I did it.
I cut it off right there ._.
Chapter 17 is when the truth is revealed. X3
Comments are loved!
I love talking with everyone. X3
I also like to know how I’m doing with each chapter >3< ]]
So... I don't know if I should edit Ch. 18 & 19 or not. It's pretty angst and I cry.
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